With global demand for wheat up to more than 25 billion bushels, proper disease management in wheat and cereals is more important than ever and that was a hot topic at the 2009 Commodity Classic in Texas this week.

BASF hosted a panel at the conference to examine how today’s technology can help manage disease in wheat and cereals to meet the growing global demand for grain. The panel featured analyst Arlan Suderman of Farm Futures Daily, who set the stage by summarizing the global view for wheat production and demand, noting that production did exceed demand last year for the first time in several years, but demand also increased, so stocks remain tight.

“Rebuilding stocks is difficult due to wide yield variability caused by weather and disease,” Suderman said. “Greater yield stability and productivity will be essential for meeting the world’s food and feed needs over the next five years.”

Listen to Suderman’s comments here:
cc09-basf-suderman.mp3

Download Suderman’s comments with this link – Arlen Suderman

After Suderman’s comments, BASF technical experts on plant disease, Drs. Gary Fellows and Gary Schmitz, talked about how BASF products can help increase global production of wheat and other cereal grains by controlling the most aggressive diseases that affect those crops.

“Preventing disease right from the beginning is important to get seedlings off to a healthy start,” Dr. Schmitz said. “As the plant matures, disease pressure increases, so it’s critical to continue protecting the plant throughout its lifecycle.”

BASF’s product portfolio for wheat includes Charter® and Stamina™ fungicide seed treatments, Headline®, TwinLine™ and Caramba™ fungicides.

2009 Commodity Classic photo album

BASF at Commodity Classic photo album.

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